Archive for the ‘Undiagnosed or Misdiagnosed’ Category

The results of a recent survey published in the journal Health Affairs had some stunning
results.

According to the survey of more than 1800 physicians:

1 in 10 have knowingly lied to a patient or
guardian within the last year.

More than half have described a patient’s
prognosis in a manner more positive than warranted with in the last year.

Approximately 20% have not disclosed a medical
error for fear of being sued.

Of course, the survey results do not necessarily mean that your physician is being untruthful with you. However, they should give you pause to ask questions and to make sure that
your doctor is telling you what is really going on so that you can make informed decisions about your medical care and your future.

You’ve suffered physical harm, or lost a loved one, due to a doctor’s negligence. While a reasonable doctor would’ve found and correctly diagnosed the cancer, the doctor you or your loved one saw failed to do that and the cancer progressed.

Now you, with the help of your Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyer, have filed a failure to diagnose lawsuit and the doctor is defending himself. The doctor may argue, for example, that it wasn’t his fault – someone else should have caught the mistake. Alternatively, you may have a doctor who argues that the failure to diagnose was because of the cancer itself and not because of his own negligence.

As the doctor argues that he did not breach his duty of care and acted as a reasonable doctor would’ve acted, you may become concerned and frustrated. However, you are not alone. Your Pennsylvania failure to diagnose attorney expects these defenses, is prepared for the defenses and will work hard to get you the fair and equitable discovery that you deserve.

Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers and doctors have long known that the failure to diagnose breast cancer, or a breast cancer misdiagnosis, may allow the disease to progress and may deny a woman of treatment that could save her life.

Chemotherapy and radiation, for example, are often most effective when used on early stage cancers. Now, there is a new type of radiation available for some breast cancer patients that allows patients to get radiation in the operating room before they are closed up from surgery. This direct radiation is thought to be just as effective as traditional radiation, but with fewer side effects. Patients can often return to their normal lives faster with this direct operating room radiation.

Yet, the research also indicates that this radiation has best results when used on small tumors that have not yet reached the lymph nodes. If the breast cancer was misdiagnosed and allowed to progress to a later stage then this exciting new treatment may no longer be an option.

If you have been the victim of a delayed breast cancer diagnosis then it is important to speak with your doctor about all of your possible treatment options.

A new study recently released by QuantiaMD had some surprising results.

First the Bad News

The study questioned about 6,400 physicians and found that:

47% of doctors encounter medical misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses at least monthly in their practices.

64% of respondents say that at least 10% of the diagnostic errors they see result in harm to the patient.

Doctors identified the top five conditions at the highest risk for misdiagnosis as:

Pulmonary embolism

Bipolar disorder

Appendicitis

Breast cancer

Myocardial infraction

Some reasons for the failure to diagnose these conditions and for the misdiagnosis of these conditions include the failure to take a complete family history, the failure to take a complete individual health history, and the failure to consider atypical patient presentations.

Now the Good News

96% of the doctors questioned believe that diagnostic errors are preventable at least some of the time. To prevent future diagnostic errors the doctors surveyed believe that a combination of new technology and an improvement in the art of diagnosis will be required.

Are you surprised by the prevalence of diagnostic errors? Do you believe that this potentially dangerous problem can be solved? Please leave us a comment and share your thoughts on this important topic.

2-5% of people who have heart attacks and who go to emergency rooms are inappropriately turned away from emergency rooms.

What does this mean for you?

It means that you, and your loved ones, should know common symptoms of heart attacks and fight for thorough testing if you believe that you might be suffering from a heart attack. If you are aggressive in your own care then may save you from an early death or disability due to the failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of a heart attack.

Dangerous Drug Interactions

The lawyers at Anapol Schwartz are a leaders in pharmaceutical liability litigations. For decades, the firm has successfully represented thousands of people from all over the country who suffered injuries they weren’t warned about. Some of these current ongoing litigations are:

Medical Disclaimer: This site is not designed to and does not provide medical advice, professional diagnosis, opinion, treatment or services or otherwise engage in the practice of medicine, to you or to any other individual. Please use this information to help in your conversation with your physician. This is general information and always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice or treatment because of content found on the Website. This website is not intended to solicit clients outside the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Arizona.